Why I started "Grammy Shirlyn's" Blog. . . .post of our family TRADITIONS, ACTIVITIES, IDEAS & EXPERIENCES to keep family close were requested.

Hi, my Grandchildren call me "Grammy"  Shirlyn.

"Grammy" Shirlyn

An "Eternal Friend" of mine mentioned that I ought to start to write a book about the things I did for my children & other's, another friend said to  write a "Grandma Blog."  Share my ideas, experiences activities and Traditions that I have used to keep our family close. (I think since I bug everybody with my millions of emails each month, a blog is probably a better forum.)  I don't know anything about blogging but I do add to my story in life every now and then and some  seem to like what I have to share.  I think sharing is fun and I seem to thrive on the attention (when other's share back with me).  We recently took our lives "out of storage"  literally.  

We spent some time in Brasil doing service for our Church for the youth down there, an experience of a lifetime  (but that's another story),  we LOVED it, LOVED it, LOVED it!

                                                                                      Back to our own storage wars vs. Brasil. 

Brasilian Institute Class
We gave ALOT of our material things to our seven married children (including my Grand Piano). But we still kept enough to fill two air conditioned very large storage units. Upon returning to the good ole U. S. of A we had a lot of catching up to do with our children and their families so we opened the units, closed the units, bought ourselves a huge motor home and traveled around getting reacquainted with our loved ones and meeting 6 new "Grand's"  and a new son-in-law added to our family while we were out of the country.  We had a great time but after a while living in the motorhome became a bit confining. My  hubby loved it (you know it was great not having a house payment and all).  One day I drove to Utah in our one car (which we bought and towed behind the motorhome) to take care of my cute Utah "Grand's" for several weeks (while their sweet Momma recovered from major surgery).  I laughingly told my hubby that I wasn't coming back until I had a home without wheels to come back to.  He told everybody, that would listen, that I left him until he could provide a home for me.  I didn't think that was very funny but then again I guess that's kinda how it looked (aren't I a spoiled brat to want a home without wheels?).  Well, while I was away enjoying my "Utah Grand's" cooking, keeping only one story of their three story home picked up (I don’t do stairs well) and doing laundry everyday (I know why they make parents young, with or without outside work it alone IS a full-time job - with lots of precious perks!) it was time to rejoin my hubby.  He and one of our sweet daughters had found us a home and I wanted to surprise him and come back to Arizona.  I guess I was worn out because on the drive back to Arizona the thought came to me I was sleepy and should stop and get a room and the next thing I knew I had crossed the center line, gone over an embankment and woke up in time to not hit a pole head on and went on to plow a muddy field.  When a truck load of young forrest fire fighters stopped their truck up on the road and ran down and opened the door of my car I said, "Oh my gosh, this was an answer to my prayers I said this morning."  One of the young fire fighters said, "An accident is an answer to a prayer?  Geez lady we just knew you were going to roll over!”  I nervously laughed while unburying and taking my turtle's traveling aquarium off of my lap (where it landed during my side trip) and getting out of the car.  I told them that I knew I was worn out but started off on my 12 hour trip knowing I would only be able to go half way and then have to find a motel and rest before continuing.  I said a prayer that those traveling around me would be alert as well as myself and that they and I would travel without harm. Next time I won't forget to include what I'm traveling in as well in my prayers, but really other than dropping mud that had been embedded in the undercarriage of my car for the next several days no real harm did come to my car.  AND I will be forever grateful that nobody was traveling in the oncoming lane anywhere near me that day - THAT is an answer to my prayers.  OK, the cute young men got me back up on the road, checked out my car and sent me off to the nearest motel to get some much needed rest.  I am just certain that those young men said to themselves “Now I’ve seen everything.  An ole lady traveling with her pet turtle on her lap.” My surprise for my hubby, I guess, was my phone call from Mt. Carmel, UT telling him I was on my way home and wanted to surprise him but that I was tired and was going to stay in Mt. Carmel and travel home the next day.  I didn't  tell him I'd been in an accident while approaching Orderville, until I arrived home the next day.

I loved the home he and our daughter found for us.  It has an exercise pool deep enough to jog in and it's just what I need for my aching shoulder and knees, and to hopefully help me get in better shape all around.

I have been spending the last seven weeks opening boxes and getting reacquainted with my "stuff".  I am a very sentimental photo-journalist so needless to say I have opened a great many boxes.  I have handled every single picture, paper and souvenir that I have collected over my 72 years here on earth during these past weeks and loved every minute of it (that's why it's taking me so long).  My kids, friends and other's have offered to help me but there are just some things others can't do for another.  But my kids have helped put furniture in the various rooms and boxes where I could unpack them more easily and hung pictures where I asked ect. and that has been fun to have that time and enjoy the "Grand's" at the same time.  I made a list of things some of my "Grand's" could do for me that they could  earn money doing and that has helped both me and them.  One polished my very tarnished silver and after coming over and doing that for a couple of days he suggested I use toothpaste on the rest (it works too).  Another "Grand" canned some pie filling with me when he unpacked my canner and empty canning jars and wanted me to show him how to can something. (This is the same "Grand" that when he was in pre-school and on the letter "B" we made a photo-journaled book entitled "B - Is For Bread" where I taught him to make homemade bread and took pictures at  every stage to illustrate his accomplishment for him so that he could take the book to school for the letter "B" week.  FUN and so enjoyable and  a very bonding learning experience.) We canned the apple pie filling and then a few days later I used some of it with another “Grand” to teach him how to make Brazilian Pasteis.  That was fun as well and very delish!  He was so proud of himself and enjoyed sharing what he made with his Momma and siblings.

I don't decorate like other's I've discovered.  I am okay with that because I enjoy being surrounded with memories.  My children and theirs are my pieces of art work on display.  I seem to like to decorate with themes that will show and encourage my "Grand's" to emulate the wonderful experiences and accomplishments of their parents (this gives me an excuse to hang my old family pictures in the playroom along with pictures of my "Grand's" doing fun things together throughout their lives.  I feel having those for them to enjoy will help them see how important family is.  I hang up pictures of all their parents serving other people so they'll keep in mind the importance of thinking of others and the joy service can bring.  I display pictures of their parents during their school years so that my "Grand's" can see what hard work and/or excelling in school/sports/music ect. brings to other's and to themselves.

I put out and even put on display various salt & pepper shakers from sets of dishes of their grand's or great-grands or even us so that they can remember big family gatherings, Sunday Dinner's with all their aunts, uncles, cousins and want to keep those memories alive so that we can all reflect back knowing how "Loved, Important & Special" we all are.

I set out the wedding pictures of us, our parents and grand-parents and our children so that my family can reflect on the joys of discovering each other and starting families together. So they can take pride in being part of a family with a family history that connects them to their heritage.  We have even been known to have “Un-birthday Birthday Parties” to honor our ancestors long past on their date of birth.  We invited my husbands parents over and had my father-in-law share some history about his mother whom none of us had ever met except for my hubby.  He was very tender in his retelling of his Momma’s life.  It touched us all.  We had heard of a family doing this and wanted to give it a try.  It was an awesome evening with our children and their families and with our children’s “Nonny” and “Poppy” Allen.  It made for a great way to help our children and grandchildren learn about their heritage.

Needless to say our new place of abode is full of comfortable clutter for all of the above reasons and many many more.

School, now days, starts at all different times even within one county so it’s kinda hard to select just one date for our annual “Back to School Sunday Dinner” for as many of our children and grandchildren as possible.  We will miss a couple of our children’s families but we’re holding it this upcoming Sunday.  I have had so much fun, since I am already knee deep in memorabilia any way, selecting pictures of our children thru the years of elementary, high school and college.  I didn’t feel like I could do pictures of my “Grand’s” there are too many and I didn’t want to leave anybody out.  They say pictures speak a  thousand words so I will attach them so that you can see some of the ideas I’ve come up with to decorate my tables (I love to do that, especially for our big family gatherings, my hubby doesn’t get too excited when I try to decorate for our dinners for two, but I do it anyway.)  

I went thru albums I haven’t put away yet and so I got quite a variety to make up my centerpieces.   A couple of year’s ago I saw a picture in a magazine about glueing pencils to a vase.  So I got “reward pencils” 10 for $1 at Target, small square candle holders and used left-over school themed ribbon from last year’s projects and adding flash cards, rulers, flowers etc. I think they turned out quite well.  I made four and each is a little different from the other but I’m quite proud of them.  Then for the place cards I cut small index cards in half, punched three holes, added a sticker and printed names with the primary colors, yahoo place cards.  I was going to insert part way into an apple or cut a slit at the top of a large gumdrop and insert the card.  But instead while out shopping I found small holders that worked just great.  I have a small laminator so I laminated the cards and then they were ready to insert.  I cut small squares out of the primary colors added a school sticker and other than the smarties candies I got to scatter on the table tops, the small booklets of “Oh The Places You Will Go” and gold shiny stars the only other decor will be one big shinny juicy red apple along side the pencil vase.  The cloths and the paper products are all primary colors.  I looked all over for back to school theme napkins but there were none to be found.  If I remember I will take a picture to include later.

Ready or not I’ll have more to share in the next posts. . . . .